The present invention relates to a switchboard apparatus for a telecommunications system, for switching incoming calls through to subscribers of a telecommunications network, and a method for switching incoming calls through to subscribers of a telecommunications network.
An external caller has the facility to be switched through to his/her required call party, referred to below as the required subscriber, via a switchboard apparatus of a telecommunications system, such as in a private telecommunications network of a company, via a switchboard operator.
In state-of-the-art systems, the switchboard operator has, on the one hand, the facility to place the caller in a queue loop. The switchboard operator then calls the required subscriber in order to establish whether, for example, the required subscriber's line is free or busy, or whether the required subscriber has diverted his/her line to an answering machine. Only when this inquiry has been made is the caller switched through to the required subscriber, if the required subscriber's line is free.
The disadvantage of this method, however, is that the caller loses valuable time, since the caller, for example, must bear the cost of the time spent in the queue loop. Furthermore, the switchboard operator on the switchboard apparatus also loses time, since he/she is unable to switch further calls during this time. Furthermore, substantial input is required from the switchboard operator to ensure that the call is switched correctly in the event of “Busy” or “Call diversion” call conditions.
On the other hand, the switchboard operator on the switchboard apparatus has the facility to perform “Instant switching”. In this case, the incoming call is forwarded without an inquiry to the required subscriber's line. This type of switching is faster than switching with an inquiry, but has the disadvantage that the caller, following what may be costly waiting time, is reconnected to the switchboard apparatus because the required subscriber's line is busy, or the caller does not wish to leave a message on an answering machine of the required subscriber.
An object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide a switchboard apparatus for a telecommunications system and a method applied in this switchboard apparatus, via which more effective switching of an incoming call through to a required subscriber is achieved, so that the incoming call is switched through to the required subscriber in the shortest possible time.